Players will suffer in rugby union’s chase for the sporting dollar

Share via

New Zealand, of all nations, must not be regarded as something akin to a travelling circusPhil Walter/Getty Images

Mark Souster

Last updated at 12:01AM, November 12 2013

The news that New Zealand are negotiating to play a game in the United States next year is an unedifying proposition. The NZRFU has tried to sell the proposed venture as something Steve Hansen wants — really? It is all about money, the big bucks it is hoped will be generated, and giving greater exposure to the All Blacks’ main sponsor, AIG, the American-based insurance company. They also stopped over in Japan on their way to Europe for a game that was designed to spread the appeal of rugby in the important Far East market before the 2019 World Cup.